


"that sound pretty gay to me"

by Asier



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9489680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asier/pseuds/Asier
Summary: Kyl'il, the owner of a flower shop, likes Ashe. Ashe, who works doing odd jobs with the boys, has recently realized that she likes Kyl'il. Kyl'il's afraid of making Ashe uncomfortable. Ashe, however, might want to confess.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on my tumblr (lesbianakari).  
> It's hot in January because they still live on a tropical island and the title references a line buried in here somewhere.

The sun was blazing hot and Ashe could feel her poor skin burning. She, along with her roommates/friends/odd-job coworkers, was currently at a flower shop. Her friends, Gregor and Markus, had won at rock, paper, scissors upon showing up, so while she was stuck outside – cleaning the windows with water that left her hands raw from the soapy chemicals – they were inside the shop, all air-conditioned and happy.

She scrubbed fiercely at the final area of the storefront’s last window, a step-latter at her side – too short to have been able reach the uppermost part of the windows without assistance. The knowledge that she was close to being finished spurred her on and it was with a great sigh of relief that she finally threw her sponge into the bucket at her feet and stretched, her arms aching a bit and her shoulders giving a pop.

Excited to finally be getting out of the sun, Ashe retrieved the bucket and stepladder and pushed her way into the blissfully chilly air-conditioning of the flower shop. This flower shop was a frequent customer for Ashe and her friends. The owner, Kyl’il, seemed to have a new task for them every week – from helping with unpacking shipments to cleaning various parts of the shop to handing out flyers. Ashe had asked before why Kyl’il didn’t simply hire someone to work full- or part-time, but the only reply she’d gotten had been a vague, “I don’t really need it,” and since Ashe and her friends _did_ need to work and liked coming by Kyl’il’s shop, Ashe hadn’t been inclined to push the matter further.

Inside, Kyl’il was leaning on the checkout counter, chin in her palms. Gregor and Markus moved about the shop around her, putting up her Valentine’s decorations and asking an occasional question about where she wanted what. Being the owner of a flower shop, Kyl’il had what could potentially be considered too many decorations for Valentine’s day. Over the years, she’d accumulated an impressive stash and had to develop a specific set up for all of it in order to keep the store looking festive rather than like a cluttered mess. As such, it might have been in the best interest of her décor to pay more attention to the boys as they placed the decorations, but, unfortunately, her brain had other ideas about where her focus should be. Namely, on Ashe. She couldn’t seem to stop her thoughts and eyes from drifting back to her.

Kyl’il stared out the window that Ashe was finishing up cleaning. Water and soap suds flowed down it, but Ashe was still clearly visible -- a distracting sight with her face pink from the heat, fluffy white hair bouncing with her movements, and dressed in overalls that made her all the cuter.

Kyl’il sighed; a soft, aching, love-struck sigh.

She wasn’t sure when it had started – this crush. Gradually, she supposed, as Ashe and the boys came around more and more to do jobs and Ashe casually chattered at her while she worked. But regardless of the when, all Kyl’il knew for sure was that Ashe was sweet and attractive and funny. And Kyl’il wanted her. She wanted to watch her and talk to her and matter to her. She wanted Ashe to think about her.

She wanted Ashe to want her back.

Frankly, it was getting to be a bit of a problem, the fear that all of her staring would end up making Ashe uncomfortable setting in.

When Ashe entered the flower shop the bells on the door chimed and all eyes turned in her direction – covered in sweat and burned by the sun, exactly how anyone would want to look when they became the center of attention.

“I finished up with the windows, Kyl’il,” Ashe said. Kyl’il walked out from behind the checkout counter, hair flowing behind her and short sundress making her legs look even longer.

“Thanks.” Kyl’il walked up to Ashe. “You look really hot. Want some water?”

“Yes, please, that’d be great.” 

Kyl’il nodded and took the bucket from her – their fingers brushing. “Wow, your hands are really dry. How about some lotion too?”

Ashe stretched her fingers, freed from the weight of the bucket and the handle that had been digging into them. “Yeah, I’d appreciate it.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Kyl’il turned on her heal, taking the bucket into the back of the shop and, Ashe assumed, retrieving the water and lotion.

Ashe walked up to Gregor and Markus, their attention having returned to the decorations they were putting up. “So, what’ve you guys been doing while I was toiling out in the sun.”

“Interior design,” Markus replied.

“Kyl’il’s getting ready for Valentine’s day,” Gregor elaborated.

“Already?”

“We’re almost out of January,” Markus said, “if anything she’s running late. Every other business has been set up for weeks.”

Ashe shrugged, her shoulders burning. She winced. “Okay, Markus. This,” she gestured up and down her body, riddled with sunburns, not all of them from today, “is bullshit. I’m not doing our next outside job, _you_ can.”

“What?” Markus turned to her, handing off the decoration he was holding to Gregor. “You can’t just say you won’t do it; that’s what we do rock, paper, scissors for. To be fair”

“Fair my ass Markus. You haven’t worked outside if there were indoor jobs to do, too, in _months_. I know you’re cheating.”

Wandering past them, searching for a good place to put up the cupid in his hands, Gregor said, “I can do it, Ashe. I don’t mind working outside, I won’t get burned as quickly or badly as you two.”

“You sure, Gregor?”

“Yeah, Markus doesn’t want to work outside and you look pretty bad. I really want to get you out of the sun.” The cupid, after some deliberation was stuck over by the door. “Getting burned that badly isn’t good for you. So, yeah, I’ll do the outside work for a while.”

“You’re a blessing Gregor, we can go back to playing for it when I’m less… pink.”

Kyl’il came back into the room, a glass of water clinking with ice in one hand. “You want the lotion first?” she asked. Ashe nodded and the water was squeezed onto a nearby tiered-table filled with potted flowers. A few more steps and Kyl’il was standing before Ashe. “Your hands, please.”

Confused, because she didn’t see a bottle of lotion, Ashe held out her hands. Kyl’il pressed hers together then grabbed Ashe’s hands, spreading lotion that she must have already gotten onto Ashe’s palms and over the back of her hands. With the feeling of the lotion, this wasn’t the most pleasant sensation, but, despite that, when Kyl’il pulled her hands away – fingers trailing – Ashe felt flustered – as if something intimate had just happened.

Kyl’il walked back to where she’d set the water, rubbing in the lotion left on her hands. It took Ashe a moment to do the same. She was still rubbing her hands together when Kyl’il held out the water.

“Thank you,” Ashe said, taking it from her. Their fingers brushed, again, when Ashe took the cup. Unlike with the exchange of the bucket, Ashe would be lying if she said this was completely unintentional.

~~~

Ashe had a _lot of_ things to stress about.

Bills? Stress.

Work? Stress.

Inien – the woman that lived across from her and the boys in their apartment building? Stress.

Kyr – another neighbor, and friend, who seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble? Stress.

Charoth – an orphaned seven-year-old she’d recently adopted after he’d followed them around while they were on a job, the two of them bonding over the course of that afternoon? A lot of stress.

And most recently: Kyl’il.

Ashe hadn’t been quite sure what was wrong, until she’d had a short talk with Gregor that had made her see the light. She’d told him about how lately seeing Kyl’il would flood her stomach with butterflies, that she was on her mind a lot, and that she wasn’t sure why. That was when Gregor, looking thoughtful, had said, “You know, that sounds pretty gay to me, Ashe,” and Ashe sputtering had insisted that it wasn’t anything of the sort. Long story short, she’d felt like an absolute idiot about five seconds later when, upon that brief time of reflection, she’d realized that actually, yes. Yes, it _was_ gay. It was _very_ gay. It was gay and she was gay and, dear god, she’d gone and gotten a crush on Kyl’il. The decision that nobody could know was immediate. She’d wanted to sort out her feelings and also hadn’t been sure being interested in an employer was really, well, advisable.

So, Ashe had a lot of things to stress about and took immense pleasure in her time off at home; stuffing herself with food with Charoth doing his own thing nearby her – sometimes showing her drawings that she would praise, patting him on the head – while incomprehensible soap operas played on one of the few tv channels her and the boys could get for cheap.

It was during one of these times, a few days after the last job for Kyl’il, that Markus came in, seating himself beside her on their couch. A normal occurrence until turned towards her and whispered, so as not to be overheard by Charoth, “I’ve noticed you’ve been super distracted lately. Are you okay?”

Ashe looked up from the food she was eating. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Markus shrugged. “Just, I swear every other time I look at you, you seem pretty lost in thought.

Ashe set her plate down on the coffee table in front of her, tugged at her hair – feelings of self-consciousness taking over. “Oh…” The only thing she’d been thinking about often recently had been Kyl’il. And since that was the case, that had to be what Markus was noticing, didn’t it? Was it really that obvious? Dear god, how _mortifying_.

Markus continued, oblivious to Ashe’s distress, “You haven’t moved on from stressing about how to enroll Charoth in school to how he’ll do or if he’ll make friends, or something like that have you?”

“What?” Ashe’s eyes shot to Charoth then back to Markus, concern overtaking her embarrassment. “No. Why? Do you think that’s something I should be worrying about?”

“Woah, woah.” Markus held up his hands. “No, I don’t. Forget I said anything, that line of questioning was clearly a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“I didn’t mean it. I’m sure he’ll be _fine_.”

Ashe glared at Markus. “Honestly, the more you talk, the more nervous I’m getting.”

“Right! Back on topic then. So, Charoth isn’t what’s distracting-”

“ _Wasn’t_.” Ashe cut in.

“…wasn’t what’s distracting you, until I ruined it anyway. What else could be bothering you?”

Ashe shrugged, face scrunching up a bit. “Oh, you know.” Just her steadily growing-

“A crush?”

“What!?” Ashe noticed a moment too late that Markus’s tone was much more teasing than serious.

Markus stared at her, wide-eyed. “That was super defensive.”

“No it wasn’t.”

"That- you’re not- Ashe, I’m not gonna make you tell me, but you’re being extremely unconvincing right now.”

Ashe groaned, rubbed the bridge of her nose, blew out a breath of air, and finally looked at Markus with a miserable frown on her face. “Why would you even ask me that? This is your fault.”

“Well, I didn’t think you _did_. It’s just: Valentine’s day is coming up. And then Kyl’il had us putting up decorations the other day. It’s on my mind. It’s not like I’ve noticed you making goo-goo eyes at somebody.”

“You haven’t?”

“No.”

Ashe pressed a hand to her chest, immense relief hitting her, sighing out a, “Thank god.”

“So,” Markus, starry-eyed with the confirmation that Ashe did in fact have a crush, scooted closer to her, “I said I wouldn’t make you tell, but can I know?”

“Know what?”

“Who you like.”

“ _Absolutely not_.”

“But I can help!”

"No, no you can’t, no way in hell.”

“I am a master at romance. C’mon, let me give you some advice.”

“Trust me, I don’t think your advice could help me.”

“Now that’s just insulting. Why would you think that?”

Ashe made a face, thought that maybe – just maybe – having someone to get advice from might be a good thing, and against her better judgement held up her hand. “Pinkie swear you won’t tell anyone?”

Markus seized her pinkie with his. “I swear on my life.”

“Alright, I’m holding you to that.” Ashe opened her mouth, closed it, took a deep breath, and in a rush said, “The girl I like, it’s, uh, it’s Kyl’il.”

A long, “Oh,” left Markus’s lips as understanding filled his eyes – probably remembering the day Kyl’il’s annoyance at his flirtations had come to a head and she’d lit the bouquet of flowers he’d offered her on fire, stating, “I’m gay,” with a straight face and a tone that promised death if he persisted in pursuing her. This had been months ago and they’d gotten along fine ever since.

“Then,” Markus said, “you think that because I was brutally rejected I can’t help you with this?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“In that case you’ll be happy to know my skills didn’t work because I never stood a chance. You, however, they could work for. Let me help you, Ashe.”

“ _No_.”

Markus stared at Ashe and Ashe stared right back. Markus hummed thoughtfully and said, “You know what, it’s bad to keep secrets from the rest of the house.” The threat was barely out of his mouth when his head whipped around in the direction of Gregor’s room, yelling, “Gregor, you’ll never believe-”

Before he could finish his sentence he was tackled by Ashe, who yelled, “That is blackmail!” as she began pummeling him with a throw pillow. Briefly stopping her assault, she looked over at Charoth, asking, “Charoth, sweetie, would you help mommy and tell Gregor that everything’s okay?” Charoth nodded and wandered off, paying no mind to Markus’s yelps as he was repeatedly hit.

~~~

Kyl’il was closing up her shop on Valentine’s day when she heard a knock at the door. To her pleasant surprise she saw Ashe, alone, bouncing a bit in place as if fighting off nerves. She walked over and opened the door.

The last few times they’d seen each other Kyl’il had been under the impression that Ashe was ignoring her. She’d spoken to her less and looked at her less and even stranger Markus and Gregor would keep winking at her, which would cause Ashe to ignore her even more intently. Therefore, it was with confused relief that she let Ashe inside.

“Hi,” Kyl’il said. “Did you need something?” Ashe came in, a hand behind her back and her back out of Kyl’il’s line of sight. Kyl’il frowned at that but didn’t comment.

Ashe’s looked at Kyl’il, but her gaze quickly fluttered away. She licked her lips. “Sort of,” she replied. Her heart was pounding horrifically and she felt stupidly cliché. She hated that she actually listened to Markus, hated that she was confessing on Valentine’s day, wished she’d just done it days ago – said it and got her answer and avoided all of the nervousness that had come with the planned confession. But here she was and there was Kyl’il – Ashe’s eyes flickered upwards again; Kyl’il was looking at her, her eyebrows furrowed; gosh, didn’t she look pretty.

Ashe cleared her throat, wondered how common it was for someone to die because their heart wouldn’t slow the fuck down, and slowly pulled her hand out from behind her back. “I know it’s not perfect, but, um, I think it looks pretty close to how it should?” Ashe said, clearing her throat again. In her hand was a small, carved version Kyl’il’s favorite flower.

A smile immediately overtook Kyl’il’s face. “How pretty, thank you. But, what’s it for?” Kyl’il reached out to take it and Ashe grasped her hands as they closed around the wooden flower.

“Well, it’s Valentine’s day and I like you, so I just…” Ashe trailed off, her whole body feeling hot.

Kyl’il stared at her. “Like as in…”

“Dating.”

“You want to go out with me?”

“If that’s okay?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” Ashe’s eyes widened.

“Yes. I like you, too. I’d like to go out with you.”

“Oh boy, uh, and you know I have a kid, right? I’ve mentioned that, right?”

Kyl’il laughed and nodded. “Yes, you’ve mentioned. That’s fine.”

Ashe smiled at her. “Great, perfect. Then, how about I help you finish closing up and we can go on a date?” Ashe released Kyl’il’s hands, but Kyl’il retrieved one of them, holding it with hers, linking their fingers together.

“I’d love to.”


End file.
